Never Shall We Die
by KouenTaisa
Summary: Jack was a fool's fool... an honest man until the end, but... there would never be an end, now would there? After AWE, spoilers ahead
1. Never Shall We Die

Author: My second attempt at drabbling into the POTC fandom. This has spoilers for AWE. -grins-

**  
Never Shall We Die**

Jack was a fool's fool... an honest man until the end, but... there would never be an end, now would there? He had cast his lot in life, and in the end, even though he had given up one form of immortality for a friend, he had found another. The Fountain of Youth... a nectar that would make his life, however pitiful it was, never end.

Ever foolish, he had taken his drink of this unending life. Elizabeth had stood beside him, becoming immortal as well. For as much as she loved her son, and would hate to see him die, she was the guardian of Will's heart. It was a post that she would give to no other, and therefore, she became immortal to keep it that way.

Learning the hard way, Captain Jack Sparrow finally realized that immortality was no game. He watched friends and family die, aging faster than it seemed possible. Young William James Turner died when he was only twenty-eight. In his lifetime, he had seen his father only twice, but twice was enough. A part of Elizabeth had died with her son in that cold room. Secretly, a part of Jack passed away as well. He had come to love the boy as his own, resigning himself to the fact that he loved freedom... the sea, more than he could ever love any woman.

But, as he had also learned, where there was no love, lust was enough. At least, that's the idea that he entertained himself with as he laid tangled up in the sheets of other women. A self-loathing smile slowly slided into place on his face. Yes, always the beds of other women, never the one woman that he wanted. Elizabeth Turner, a pirate for life, at least in her heart... and his. She had learned to love the sea just as much as he had, but never as much as Will... never as much as she had loved her son.

That was the difference between them, after all. They would never die. They would never age. They suffered in their own pain. They watched everyone around them die. They had both lost apart of themselves the night young William had passed. They both loved the sea, but at this one point, they differed. Elizabeth loved Will more than the open waters. Jack loved the sea, for it was the embodiment of all the he long for... freedom.

So, as he had learned the fool's way, immortality wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He had lost his friends, the woman he loved, a boy that was like a son... and sadly, as the years rolled past, never stopping or slowing or giving him time to grow accustomed to this new world that was forming... he was losing his freedom, and to a pirate, that was just like losing his life...


	2. Never Shall We Die: Barbossa's Tale

Author: For Kogoro, who suggested this could be a series... maybe a drabble series.

**Never Shall We Die: 2 (Barbossa's Tale)**

Jack was a foolish boy. Barbossa had realized this from the start. When he had first meet Sparrow, the child had been clinging to his father, Captain Teague. He seemed to be a happy young boy, grinning and smiling like there was no tomorrow. His mother was long gone by this point, she had died when Jack was just a baby, after all. Teague had raised him to the best of his knowledge, but... to Jack, it was never enough.

He had run away at the age of twelve, seeking his own fortune upon the seas. At the age of twenty, he had taken his spot as Captain Jack Sparrow of the legendary Black Pearl. Years later, there was a mutiny and he was left to die. He returned, creating outrageous stories upon his arrival to Tortuga. Jack, for the fool he was, had murdered Barbossa where he stood in Isla de Muerta.

Yet, Barbossa had learned to respect the lad, just a tad. Jack had proved that his mistakes weren't always as bad as they seemed. He had faults, as did anyone. They had been best friends, but that relationship would never be the same. Hector Barbossa had watched Jack practically grow from a boy to a man. In all of his years, he had learned that Jack was honorable, but selfish.

Jack Sparrow loved the seas more than anything or anyone else. He never wanted to stop sailing... to stop being a pirate. So, he sought immortality. Barbossa, who had previously reached such a goal, warned Jack. It was not all glory and fame. It was pain and hunger and thirst and exhaustion. You wished for the old things to return... to be able to be hurt and know that you were only human. Immortality meant forever, and forever... that was a long time, but Jack was stubborn.

Jack took from the Fountain Of Youth. He swallowed the water alongside Elizabeth. When Barbossa heard, he laughed... laughed at the stupidity of it all. Almost thirty years later, they were all gone. Raggeti and Pintel... Gibbs and Cotton... they were all gone. Barbossa was the soul survivor of the original crew of the Black Pearl... and he was _dying_.

Dying... such an absurd concept to one who is unable to do so... but never to Jack. Death had followed the young Captain his short life... and it would continue to haunt him for eternity. Barbossa had informed him upon his death bed, laughing with the little strength he had, that... immortality was a fool's game... a way out for the cowards. Jack had smirked, but Hector was able to see the tears... the tears he was shedding for a lost friend.

_"Death is just another adventure, mate. It's never really over, but... as a coward, I guess I'll never know."_


End file.
